Cendant Corporation‘s Travel Distribution Services Division today launched a new company, Travelport Corporate Solutions, Inc., offering corporations a customizable business travel solution that helps reduce overall travel management costs by up to 40 percent. Created and structured with input from corporate customers, the new company will integrate the strengths of Highwire, Galileo International, and Cendant’s travel agency, providing global fulfillment and 24/7 customer care services.

The managed corporate marketplace is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry, comprising more than 40 percent, or $78.6 billion, of the $193 billion U.S. travel market in 2002, according to PhoCusWright . This is expected to increase by about 30 percent to $104 billion, or 46 percent of a larger $225 billion total U.S. pie, by 2005. Additionally, the managed online segment alone is expected to increase nearly 130 percent to $30 billion by 2005.

“Travelport’s distinctive value proposition in the corporate arena represents the benefit of working with Cendant. We are combining our products and services to provide the most comprehensive range of solutions to customers we serve in all segments of the travel industry,” said Sam E. Galeotos, president and CEO of Cendant’s Travel Distribution Services Division. “As companies continue to look for ways to reduce costs and assume more direct control over large cost centers, such as corporate travel, we will continue to see the demand for cost-effective managed programs increase, and Travelport has been built to serve those needs.”

“We are very excited to premiere Travelport as we believe the timing is perfect to introduce an integrated and flexible solution to the evolving corporate travel marketplace,” said Marka Jenkins, president and CEO of Travelport Corporate Solutions. “Faced with ongoing consolidation and increased demands for cost reduction, we continue to see more convergence of offerings in today’s travel industry. Travelport is uniquely positioned to succeed in this evolution by leveraging the strength of Cendant and delivering unsurpassed value and services to our corporate customers while enhancing service and quality.”

Further validating Travelport’s customer-centered and flexible approach, a recent Harris Interactive survey found that the majority of business travelers book their own travel (81%), and cite competitive prices (65%), ease of use (48%) and customer support (46%) as the most important capabilities of a corporate travel provider.
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